Representing dragon balls

Tea pots, bowls or round dishes, almost every item displayed at ‘The Offering’ – an exhibition of ceramic work by Ange Sabine Peter had two things in common – a dragon and a golden ball. Imbibed dramatically into the ceramic and porcelain wares, both are projected in one form or the other, which makes you think what is so special about this dragon and the ball. 

“I was inspired by dragons which are considered to be a force of evolution in Taiwan,” says Ange Peter, whose two-year stay in Taiwan became a reason for this exhibition. “When you talk about evolution it is the spirit that acts as a force and it is present in all things. Therefore, you can see dragon in all the pieces and also the golden balls which represents spirit,” explains Ange who has been actively involved into pottery since 1997.
Ange was born in Hamburg, Germany 1964 and at the age of two the family immigrated to Pondicherry. Since then she has been living Auroville, Tamil Nadu and has been working in ceramics.

Therefore in a bid to learn new things, she visited Japan, the  influence of which is not only visible in her new designs but also in the technique. She has used Haiyu slip ware technique which she has learned from her Japanese master Shibata Masaaki Sensei. In this method ash glazes and slips to create amazing surfaces.

Ange experimented with it and incorporated porcelain with this technique. Therefore, the work that comes out of the kiln has a luminescent quality to it. “Last year I created a variety of work involving porcelain, ash glazes and celadon glaze. Celedon is a pale blue glaze that originated in China and it replicates the semi-translucent quality of jade.” says Ange.

Taking a more experimental approach, Ange created some sleek vases which she calls  ‘Dream Catchers’. “When I noticed that a major proportion of my work is horizontally placed, I decided to create some vertical wares. So vase was one option. I made them with celadon and kept it tall and sleek,” says Ange.